Man gets jail time for 5th drunken driving conviction

A 49-year-old Ravenna man was sentenced Monday to the Ottawa County Jail, rather than prison, for a fifth-offense drunken driving conviction.

Ottawa County Circuit Judge Karen Miedema said she took David Lee Morin’s long stretch of sobriety into account when making her decision, despite Ottawa County Prosecuting Attorney Greg Rappleye’s recommendation for a longer sentence.

Miedema ordered Morin to serve 240 days in jail, with credit for three days already served. Work release is allowed. Morin must also complete 60 days of community service, and pay a $1,000 fine and $500 restitution.

He will be on probation for three years when he gets out of jail. The judge warned Morin that any probation violation would likely result in him going to prison.

Morin apologized to the victim and to his family during Monday’s hearing.

“I made a mistake,” he answered quietly when Miedema asked him why he was drinking again.

Morin was previously convicted of drunken driving twice in 2000, and once each in 2001 in Newaygo County and 2002 in Muskegon County.

Miedema said she was concerned about the public’s safety and that the court would have longer oversite on the defendant with a jail sentence and probation.

Morin was arrested July 11, following a late afternoon crash at the intersection of Beechtree Street and Robbins Road in Grand Haven. Grand Haven Department of Public Safety officials said that he turned his Nissan Sentra in front of a Chevy Malibu at the intersection. The driver of the Malibu was taken to North Ottawa Community Hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.